The present disclosure relates generally to the field of drilling wells and more particularly to drilling at least one well along a path referenced to at least one other well.
The difficulties encountered in guiding the drilling of a borehole to follow a desired path at distances of thousands of feet below the surface of the earth are well known. In some applications it is beneficial, from a production standpoint, to drill multiple, closely-spaced wells. These wells may contain horizontal portions.
In other examples, it may be desirable to drill multiple wells originating from a platform and extending along various paths to different parts of a reservoir. The paths of the wells may need to be controlled to reach their desired targets and/or to avoid collision with other wells during the drilling process.
In yet another example, drilling requirements in low permeability and/or heavy viscous fluids may require closely spaced wells. For example, in steam assisted gravity drainage wells, steam may be injected in one horizontal well to mobilize heavy, viscous liquids in the surrounding formation that may be recovered in closely spaced nearby wells.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description herein are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.